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Ian was overwhelmed with such strong anger for the Black Orc that he was consumed by his rage.

He did not immediately understand the source of his great anger, but the more contempt the Black Orc showed toward him, the angrier Ian became. 

He felt as though a lifetime’s worth of scorn had been heaped upon him by everyone he’d known, and he had endured it while undergoing his numerous trials and struggles.

No more!

Ian was determined to live his life free from contempt from that moment on.

He turned to the Black Orc, squarely facing off to the monster as it swung its sword at him, nearly cutting him in half.

Ian swung his sword in return, a lifetime of ambition and rage poured into his sword.

The ambition to stand above everyone else, to block and cut down the grand sword that was swung against him.

Ian felt the surrounding mana rush into him and gather on his sword. It acted according to his will, and as he held his sword high, a miracle transpired in front of him.

Ian’s sword began to glow a pale blue.

“T-That’s…”

Jamie’s eyes widened, and she paused in awe, an arrow half-loaded onto her bow. She’d seen the bluish glow before and knew what it was.

She gasped. “Aura?”

Aura was difficult to form and required extensive training from youth for an individual to even hope to achieve it.

Yet here it was manifesting on Ian's sword. It was fuzzy, but there was no denying its presence. His sword was enveloped with mana.

Ian’s sword collided with the Black Orc’s grand sword.

Was there a clanging sound?

He couldn't hear it.

Ian’s sword sliced into the monster’s blade, sinking into the metal.

He gritted his teeth and tried to completely sever the blade, but even with the aura, it was too much for Ian.

Bam!

There was a bursting sound in the air, and both swords were shattered, their shards scattering in all directions. 

Ian instinctively tried to block the sword fragments, but the mana had completely surrounded him and created a shield around him, dispelling the shards that threatened him.

Ian stared down at the sword, amazed by the phenomenon. He slowly lifted the remaining half of his sword, feeling the mana move through him and into the blade at his desire.

His head throbbed, but he pressed on as the blue glow transformed his sword once more.

The Black Orc waved its arms wildly, attempting to block the flying shards, and Ian swung his halved weapon toward the monster.

The Black Orc was beheaded.

Squelch!

It felt soft. Horrendously soft.

Ian unconsciously shivered and let out a breath.

“Fuu...”

Ian’s strength had been sapped.

He dropped to his knees, his sword slipping from his hand as he stared at the Black Orc’s body in front of him, fighting off the overwhelming desire to close his eyes and sleep where he kneeled.

Finally, he grinned and stood above the Black Orc. He had won.

Ian was overcome by a strange sense of superiority.

He was stronger than the Black Orc. He had only been half of a sword user before, unable to use mana or form an aura. Now, he had become a fully realized swordsman.

Ian had created an aura. He had done something that would’ve previously been impossible.

"This feeling… It’s nice.”

Just being able to control mana. Just being able to create aura.

He felt as though he could rule the world.

He saw a clear opportunity.

After a lifetime of trudging in the dark, Ian felt like he’d finally found the light.

A window popped up in front of Ian, and through his closed eyes, he sensed the message.

[You have done the unbelievable!]

[Although it was for a brief moment, your strong ambitions made the mana automatically move according to your will. The mana were amazed by the mysterious experience!]

[You have leveled up!]

***

Ian rejoiced when he heard the leveling sound. His strength slowly returned to his body, and he regained his stamina.

It was the first time he had leveled up in this place.

Once he confirmed Chris and Jamie had killed the other Black Orc, Ian opened the stat window.

[Ian Ignis]

Level: 18(17+1)

Occupation: None

Title: None

Power: 25(22+3)

Agility: 30(27+3)

Stamina: 27(24+3)

Wisdom: 23(22+1)

[Skills Possessed]

- Intermediate Swordsmanship

- Intermediate Martial Arts

- Peer

I haven’t looked at it in a while. It went up quite a lot.

Pleased, Ian bobbed his head.

His level-up resulted in his overall level to increase by one. Only the wisdom stat could not be raised through training.

It was only one level, but Ian felt he was stronger than before.

No, even if I hadn't leveled...

Leveling up wasn't the only indicator that he had become stronger.

It was momentary, but Ian was able to move mana according to his will to form an aura. The aura was very unstable and fuzzy, but that didn't invalidate the fact that he had created it before it disappeared.

If he kept training and didn’t lose grasp of this feeling, he would soon be able to freely use aura.

That being the case…

"I can truly become powerful."

He grinned.

His successful manipulation of the mana to create aura was a successful first step to becoming a swordmaster.

He wanted to finish this job quickly as he was itching to wield the sword. 

Ian began to cut the ropes off of the nearby villagers, and Chris and Jamie joined him in freeing the villagers.. 

“Hng. Hngh. Thank you. Thank you so much...”

"Thank you. You saved my life."

"My baby… Everything’s okay now. Hngh. Thank you."

Many of the villagers sobbed, thanking Ian and his party.

The three continued to work in silence while listening to the repeated expressions of gratitude.

As Ian cut the ropes from a young boy, he noticed the dazed look on his face, and as soon as the boy was free, he darted to the corner of the dungeon.

“Mommy…! Wahh!”

“…”

Ian clenched his teeth and watched while the boy wail over a skeleton.

It was somehow a familiar sight.

Ian frowned as he looked on, remembering where he had seen a familiar sight before. 

The boy in front of him reminded him of the boy from his vision of himself as a boy, weeping over the body of his dying mother.

Flicker.

Ian’s eyes flared with rage once more.

The dark sorcerer could never be forgiven.

Ian returned to freeing the remaining villagers, pausing and turning his head as he felt a gaze upon him.

What was that?

Ian scanned around and discovered something unusual. Nestled in the hands of the dead Black Orc was a crystal ball.

Inside the red, glowing ball, an eye stared back at him.

This is an actual eye.

Ian looked carefully, before realizing who the eye belonged to.

Ian could feel his hair standing on end as his blood boiled with anger.

The dark sorcerer was watching Ian through the crystal ball.

This is dangerous.

The sorcerer could teleport instantly among them, abandoning his efforts with the village to take revenge on Ian.

If the Black Orcs and the dark sorcerer were to appear now, Ian and his companions were sure to die with the villagers they had just rescued.

"Everyone, hurry up! We need to get out of here as soon as possible!" Ian said urgently as he traced back the path he came from.

The villagers hurried behind him, eager to leave as well.

But it was too late. A light appeared behind them, and the dark sorcerer appeared suddenly.

“Kyaa!”

"Everyone, run!"

The villagers scurried with panic, leaving Ian behind who pulled out his broken sword and spun around to face the sorcerer.

Bang!

A magic missile shattered on Ian’s sword and dispersed.

The impact caused Ian to stagger backwards.

“Damn you…”

The dark sorcerer ignored the fleeing villagers, his anger fully focused on Ian, making his escape impossible..

Well, at least there are no Black Orcs.

Ian would not have stood a chance against the sorcerer and his orcs, but he believed he could handle the sorcerer.

I want to kill him with my own hands.

Ian thought as he took a deep breath.

He then remembered the aura he created when he slashed the Black Orc. He tried to do it again, copying how he felt when he had formed his aura.

It was not so easy the second time.

The mana around him quivered and moved toward him, but it didn't gather in his sword.

"You're an amusing punk."

Ian furrowed his brows. He couldn’t tell if the dark sorcerer was referring to him.

”You had no ability to use mana the first time I saw you.”

“...”

"Now you’re strong enough to face Black Orcs alone… This is dangerous." The dark sorcerer said, shaking his head.

Ian ignored him and kicked off from the ground.

The sorcerer had been weakened, and Ian was sure he would be able to defeat him even if the mana did not become one with his will as it had before. It would be easy to cut his throat in his current state.

All I have to do is watch out for magic.

He just had to be on guard for magic and make a quick retreat from the dungeon.

Another magic missile shot out.

Ian turned, dodging it smoothly as he thrust his sword and impaled the dark sorcerer in his abdomen.

Ian frowned.

I don’t feel anything.

Bewildered, Ian bent down.

Just as he bent down, a fireball flew past him, heating up the space around him before quickly disappearing.

Ian let out a ragged breath and glared at the dark sorcerer. He was certainly no easy opponent. 

"Haha, I can’t believe it.”

"What can’t you believe?” Ian asked.

The man’s gaze was uncomfortable, and Ian felt like an object being examined.

"The world is so unfair."

“...”

Ian simply glared back at him, once more attempting to manipulate the surrounding mana.